Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the chief electoral officer against BJP spokesperson and Puri MP candidate Sambit Patra for allegedly violating the poll code after he took part in a road show holding an idol of Lord Jagannath on Monday.“The model code of conduct (MCC) has been clearly violated by Sambit Patra; he was seen holding the idol of Lord Jagannath in his hand in an election rally and using the photograph of the deity on his social media account,” reads the complaint filed by Congress before CEO Surendra Kumar.It further said, “When the Election Commission has said no election can be fought on the basis of religion, caste, creed or culture, the election rally of Sambit Patra and the photographs thereof clearly show violation of the MCC.”Apart from Congress, a sevayat of Jagannath Temple, Ramachandra Das Mohapatra, also criticised Patra for showing the idol of the deity in the rally. “This is unfortunate and a dishonour to the Jagnnath culture of the state. Leaders should not use Lord Jagannath to seek votes,” Das Mohapatra said.During the annual Ratha Yatra festival, Lord Jagannath goes around in a chariot, he said.Patra, who visited the Jagannath Temple in Puri on Monday and took out a rally from Uttara to Puri — his first in the state — denied the allegations. “I was in the rally and someone from the crowd gifted me an idol. How can I refuse to accept it?” he said.Elections to the Puri parliamentary constituency will be held in the third phase on April 23.

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